


drunk in bond

by thunderylee



Series: love february 2021 [17]
Category: NEWS (Japan Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, Drunk Texting, Gen, Platonic Relationship, not that kind of texting, responsible drinking, this is kind of heavy re: news
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29741925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: Massu loves to drink.
Series: love february 2021 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138346
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	drunk in bond

**Author's Note:**

> love february day 27: in vino veritas! massu was clearly lit in his latest news ring entry so i'm only following his lead.

Massu loves to drink. Not in the addictive way that makes him an alcoholic, but in the relaxing way where nothing matters but the warm, fuzzy feeling that spreads throughout his body. His brain turns off just enough to be pleasant, all of the annoyances and frustrations of daily life fading away in favor of ephemeral bliss.

It also makes his long, boring nights at home more tolerable. He can only clean and organize so much, and he’s not big on hobbies like cooking or reading. The internet is only so entertaining, as are movies and TV shows. He likes to draw and design clothes, but not every day. He already ran out of projects and home improvements the _first_ time he had to stay home.

So, he drinks. A beer or two, depending how late he stays up, nothing extensive. Sometimes he’ll splurge on a nice bottle of whiskey, or he’ll be gifted wine or sake. By now, he knows his limits and how to pace himself so he doesn’t get too shit-faced to actually enjoy what he’s imbibing.

He’s partway into his second beer when he gets a text message: _hey, what are you doing?_

He squints to focus on what he’s typing and sends back: _drinking beer. what’s up?_

It’s Shige, who doesn’t ordinarily text unless there’s something on his mind, and even then he’d rather call. For a writer, he’s not big on typing out his thoughts. Maybe he’s somewhere where he can’t make a phone call.

_not much. struggling a little to focus tonight. could use some of your fearless positivity._

Massu frowns as he types back without thinking.

_will it make you feel better to talk about it?_

_there’s nothing to really talk about. i’m just overloaded. i spread myself too thin, unsurprisingly._

_yeah, you did._ Massu adds some emoji to soften his words. _and i’m not that fearless._

_oh yeah? what are you scared of?_

_a lot of things!_ Massu glances up toward the ceiling as he tries to compile a list in his muddy brain. _bugs. dirt. germs. losing news._

Shige sends a bunch of frowny faces with his response: _you’re scared of us disbanding?_

_i think about it all the time. with every new interest you take on, with every time koyama complains about being lonely, i expect the two of you to call it. we’ve run our course, we’re graduating and moving on to rest of our lives, however you want to frame it. i’m honestly terrified that we’ll finish this last tour and that will be it for us._

Massu doesn’t notice that he’s crying until the kana start swimming before his eyes. He probably made some typos, but he hits send right away. Second beer means no second guessing.

Shige doesn’t respond right away, and Massu takes the opportunity to wipe his eyes and drink some more. He’s not typically a sad drunk, but this particular topic is near and dear to his heart. While he probably wouldn’t cry if he were sober, he’d definitely want to.

When his phone finally beeps again, he struggles to make his way through the large block of text.

_i had no idea you felt that way. i can assure you i have no plans to disband the group, and neither does koyama. it’s true that i have other projects and koyama wants to have a family, but we’ve already decided that we can do those things while being in news. news comes first to us—it always has. we are the last 3 standing for a reason, right? we’re the ones who value being a group over individual work. no matter what i do, i’m always gonna have “news” before my name. just like i know it’s gonna say “news’ masuda takahisa” on your gravestone._

The last sentence has Massu laughing, as morbid as it is. He feels a million times better, even though he wasn’t the one who needed cheering up in the first place.

_i’m sorry_ , he types. _you came to me for comfort and ended up comforting me instead!_

_that’s not entirely true_ , Shige tells him. _you gave me a new perspective through which to view my problems at the moment. thank you for confiding in me, even if your honesty only came from lowered inhibitions._

Massu laughs at that too. _probably. glad it helped you though._

_it definitely did. good night!_

Massu sends a good-night sticker and returns to his beer. His smile is so big that it hurts his face, and he feels even warmer as a worry he had been burying deep inside him since before last summer lifts clear out of his body.

Most of all, Massu loves that drinking makes him be true to himself.


End file.
